{"id":372764,"date":"2026-10-14T08:38:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-14T08:38:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372764\/"},"modified":"2026-10-14T08:38:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-14T08:38:09","slug":"bonnie-and-clyde-illegal-immigrant-couple-accused-of-brazen-jewelry-theft-spree-across-four-states","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/372764\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Bonnie and Clyde\u2019 illegal immigrant couple accused of brazen jewelry theft spree across four states"},"content":{"rendered":"

An illegal immigrant couple dubbed \u201cBonnie and Clyde\u201d by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegedly turned strangers\u2019 kindness into a payday<\/a>, stealing necklaces from elderly victims in a jewelry theft spree stretching across four states.<\/p>\n

Rudi Lacatusu, 28, and Mirabela Lacatusu, 26, Romanian nationals accused of targeting victims on Long Island, are now in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, DHS announced Tuesday.<\/p>\n

The pair allegedly carried out at least 14 jewelry thefts across New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Maryland, according to DHS, which cited local reporting.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The stolen necklaces were valued between $2,000 and $3,000 each.<\/p>\n

One alleged encounter began with a seemingly innocent request for directions.<\/p>\n

Mirabela Lacatusu, 26, and Rudi Lacatusu, 28, both of Ontario, have been accused of stealing necklaces. Nassau County Police Department<\/p>\n

A 73-year-old woman was standing outside her Valley Stream, New York, home Oct. 5, when a gold Mitsubishi with a man and woman inside pulled up, Nassau County police said. The female passenger asked how to get to BJ\u2019s Wholesale Club.<\/p>\n

After the woman helped, the passenger stepped out, asked to hug her and placed two gold-colored necklaces around her neck, according to detectives.<\/p>\n

A short time later, the woman realized her own gold necklace, worth approximately $2,000, was gone.<\/p>\n

Investigators linked the suspects to similar thefts in Franklin Square and East Meadow. Each faces three counts of fourth-degree grand larceny, police said.<\/p>\n

Rudi Lacatusu and his wife have been dubbed a \u2018Bonnie and Clyde\u2019 illegal migrant couple. Nassau County PD<\/p>\n

DHS said Nassau County authorities turned the couple over to ICE after their arrests. Both entered the U.S. illegally at an unknown time and location, according to DHS.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis \u2018Bonnie and Clyde\u2019 illegal alien couple from Romania has been charged with grand larceny after allegedly carrying out more than a dozen jewelry thefts across four states,\u201d DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks to local partners in New York, these illegal aliens are in ICE custody and will be removed from our country.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mullin also took aim at Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, arguing that sanctuary policies put Americans at risk.<\/p>\n

Mirabela Lacatusu is now in ICE custody. Nassau County PD<\/p>\n

\u201cIf it were up to sanctuary politicians like Governor Kathy Hochul, these criminals would be back on the streets to rob more Americans,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

DHS used the arrests to renew its criticism of New York\u2019s sanctuary policies, calling the state a \u201chotbed of illegal alien crime\u201d under Hochul. DHS also argued those policies have had \u201cdisastrous consequences\u201d beyond New York\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

The announcement follows Operation Rotten Apple, an ICE crackdown<\/a> that ran from July 27 through Aug. 29.\u00a0<\/p>\n

DHS said officers arrested 2,197 illegal immigrants across New York during the operation, including people the department described as murderers, rapists, child predators, drug traffickers and violent assailants.<\/p>\n

DHS has described New York as a \u2018hotbed of illegal alien crime\u2019 under Gov. Kathy Hochul. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

Nassau County police initially issued the suspects appearance tickets directing them to court in Hempstead Oct. 20, according to the department\u2019s arrest announcement. DHS\u2019 statement Tuesday did not specify when ICE took custody of them.<\/p>\n

The case prompted police to warn residents about distraction scams targeting elderly people, including strangers offering jewelry or gifts, asking to pray together, requesting change or seeking help with a flat tire.<\/p>\n

While a victim\u2019s attention is elsewhere, the thieves can remove jewelry directly from their body, police warned.<\/p>\n

Authorities urged residents to stay alert in parking lots and outside grocery stores and call 911 to report suspicious activity.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Anyone who has been targeted in a similar theft can contact Nassau County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-244-TIPS.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An illegal immigrant couple dubbed \u201cBonnie and Clyde\u201d by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) allegedly turned strangers\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":372765,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[2222,303,2300,3410,20511,57,1066,9,11,10,49,51,50,797,58],"class_list":["post-372764","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-connecticut","tag-crime","tag-department-of-homeland-security","tag-illegal-immigrants","tag-maryland","tag-metro","tag-new-jersey","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-theft","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372764","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=372764"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/372764\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/372765"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=372764"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=372764"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=372764"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}